all too easy! try this:

01: steal a lame concept & press kit from another performer you're friends with.

02: come up with some stupid fucking costumes & tell anyone who'll listen how much of a genius you are.

03: write appallingly bad lyrics about love, dancing or heartbreak.

04: become friends with average, yet highly paid beats & loops producers.

05: you'll now have a contract with interscope & be doing all the talk show rounds.

congrats! you're now in every kid's ipod and doing stadium tours & festival sets all over the world!

seriously though, i think using the internet to tap into the listeners who'd dig your sounds is a great way to reach those you can't via tv or radio exposure, and mainly creating a big online presence for your work, at the same time as touring as much as you can, get the practice in, make a few bucks from playing live, and work your ass off in a shitty job to pay for decent production of your ep's and albums, rather than ask for money for shitty sounding recordings.

i give away a lot of my music online, but hope to sell at least enough 'final cut' albums when they're mastered and released to put back into the next releases and so on.

i think giving away entirely everything is noble, but i also think that if you can give away a version of an album to the folks who support your work, then release an expanded version of the album with higher quality audio, some more songs, artwork, multi-tracks etc., in a way like trent has done recently, and your fans actually buy these to support you, then that could be cool as well.

merch seems to be a big thing with bands now, due to music essentially being free, so selling your name on all kinds of shit is another way to make money if you can't get licensing deals or sell a shitload of albums. i understand why, but i really can't see myself selling my music in such a way unless the products were relevant and interwoven into the whole idea of what the band is about, or what the album is about.

selling albums with some kind of expanded experience that can't be downloaded could be a way to actually keep selling albums, rather than just having everyone rip them for free, but i don't think having your name printed on cheap shirts, pens, dildos and the like would hold much interest to many people.

essentially, touring first, get out there and seen and heard by people on the ground, and try to find new and interesting ways to have your sounds discovered, work with performing artists, production companies, stick your cd to walls and posts in the city, just do random shit to get some attention, but have it all link back to a band and an album that people are gonna dig when they discover it, and wanna tell their friends about it too.

i've noticed with major labels, they use talk shows now as their word of mouth. someone famous mentions a performer - within the month they top the charts, regardless of how shitty they may be. most of us don't have that kinda access, so finding other ways to get people to talk about your work is paramount to it being something that travels and gains fans and people who wannna support, enjoy and sometimes even become a part of what you do.

/semi-drunken rambings



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2010 10:12PM by pask.

i like you. wanna be my band manager?

This article is very interesting. My band released our debut EP for free because we realized it's more important to get people to our shows (which they're more likely to do if they've heard our music before) than to sell downloads to our friends and family. We're also putting our songs on iTunes and other digital stores (via Tunecore), though, so we can project the level of professionalism being found on those services offers. It's also a chance for people who want to pay for a download to do so without naming their own price.

Check out the tunes, if you so please.

Automata - Microcosm EP



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2010 10:24AM by foodclothesmedicine.

I've noticed a number of bands, especially indie artists, will make a certain song, usually the best one on an album, only avaliable through purchasing the album. Even on iTunes you cannot purchase just that song. I can't help but wonder if this is a good idea or a bad one considering, yes, many people may just buy the entire thing for that one song, but if not you are not giving yourself the best representation. Your best songs are the ones that really attract new fans who sometimes must grow into liking most of your music.
I would like to give most of music away for free with, as Trent advizes, some special feature about an album making it worth buying. I just don't know if holding out on certain songs is the best way to go...
Thoughts?

U r < Missing something myspace.com/omidian

Richard posted:

These days everyone can have a band, right? Not just the gifted.

Not to be obnoxious, but isn't this part of the problem? As a listener, it's hard to know how to navigate the sea of stuff that's out there.

And, of course, the musicians that are selected by the major labels/producers as being the next big thing aren't necessarily the most talented out there, either. All they have to do is find somebody that's marketable (i.e. someone who's good looking and won't make a fuss), and they bring in others to write the songs, produce them, choreograph their image, and even doctor their singing talent via Autotune.

So who exactly is the next good artist that we should be listening to? Where are the filters?

Thank you TR, for everything. Please, check me out, www.soundFEED.net
I am FEED Hope to hear from you, Sean M. G.
FEED



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2010 12:32AM by soundFEED.

Hello Trent and friends,

A new suggestion how distribution of intellectual work could make more money for everyone: the "ideosphere"

[2and2.blogs.experienceproject.com]

It's a mix of Trent's ideas, Radioheads' ideas, and more. Just five brief paragraphs (the "what's in it for you" post), asking for your feedback... TIA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2010 02:18PM by 2and2.

Suppose is too long haul for me, but after 15 years and more than 17 albums I don’t really care about it…Giving music for free is good than you`ve got something to eat, but with almost 100 percent level of piracy( like here in Russia) it`s not an option…Where is no option actually =cause choosing between to be famous and broken and to be broken and infamous, but more rich in old Russian version of this word = it`s not an option. I mean of coarse you can be little bit more famous while spending cash you have on some promo and had less cash for buying equipment and upgrades, but it won`t worth it = you won`t make any profit – so what’s the point?! I had never paid for promo however i`ve about 20 thousand of readers on my literature site…Of coarse they won`t pay for a book if they`ll find it offline as well as for Cds, but they will listen for sure..And i don`t mind to give all i`ve create for free than it`ll be massive and electricity and food and electronic and etc, will be as free as my films music fine art and etc. It`ll be amazing and music industry will no longer needed and remain = There will be only artists and they listeners and only when world of mouth will be only and truly way of promotion.`Cause than where is no profit and sells = where is no needs in promos,PR agents, fucking tv shows resailers and etc.- Listeners takes only what they really need instead of what television or radio online spamers sells…I saw it here(in Russia) – I use to hate it, but now i see that it`s the only way to safe electronic art and analogue souls `Cause if everything is free - you don`t have to create something that you hate or work on some shitty job instead of create(all the jobs are shitty than you are not creating but selling…) No sale =no corruption, no wars,no borders…Just creative people and they creations…Sounds like utopia and it is cause most people is Ok to take for free but not to give for free… And it`s a shame `cause it could work and most folks simply can`t realese that it`s impossible to sit and do nothing even if you`ve got all you can get from the others for free = On the contrary – best motivation to do something great is when you can get everything without doing anything = `cause only when you can release the truth = there is only one thing that you just can`t buy( which makes it most valuable ) – it`s the things that ONLY YOU can create!! And if you wanna be yourself, find yourself = where is only way for you = CREATE!!!

Give it away I say

Songs from our catalog have been played by hundreds of radio stations and podcasters worldwide and it didn't cost them a penny, in return we got exposure and promotion.....sounds like a good deal to me, that's why many of our tracks have been released under a creative commons license and are free to download. So what if you lose out on lost sales, you gain more in the long term by increasing your fan base (If you can survive that long)

With such an overcrowded market place giving away your music is essential in my opinion. The biggest problem for emerging indie artists today is obscurity, not piracy. To find out more listen to The Antiqcool Podcast
[antiqcool.podbean.com]

My music is the soundtrack to my life and i think it can effect people on many levels spiritualy, emotionaly, and mentaly. dont really care about making any revenue i just want people to have a realistic experiance that they can relate to and can make an impact on there life. I just want my music out there and heard and im not looking for fame.

I am at a point in my life where money does not matter anymore and have come to relize the real importance of life, the things that really matter and make people happy, or discover unhappy truth's and facts about life. someone once told me life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it. in my current situation i have learned how true this statement really is.

I have a heart disease and dont have much time to make life, just to take it and choose what to do with it. I want to share my last thoughts and feelings with this world through my music, music and sound expression can express soo much more then just words and i am focusing the time i have left on my music and my expression and bettering myself, TRENT REZNOR has inspired me and shown me the amazing things you can do and the everlasting effect music can have on a persons life. and i want to do the same thing.

I just need a fast way to get my message out and heard! i have just ordered a brand new MIDI controler and all kinds of new equipment and i am trying my hardest to get the music out of my head and into sound! I am writting music like a machine! i want to leave something on this earth worth leaving.

thanks for sharing your advice with me TRENT!

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on someone who is just learning how to programm and write music? i am wanting so bad to really learn how to get my music to sound the way it was suppost to!what do i need? where do i begin?

That was some helpful advice from TR, although would anyone have any advice on how I would go about this 'musical experiment' I plan on doing?
The idea is to get a group of musicians together to share material, ideas, etc. and to have a few jam sessions and hopefully even move on to recording.
I realise this could either be great or a complete catastrophe but whatever the outcome it should be interesting and above all, good fun.
I just think it would be a good opportunity for people to show their skills as a musician and to get their music out there. or maybe I'm too ambitious
I already have a number of people interested, I would just really appreciate some tips on maybe how I could best go about this and make it a reality.

by the way, I love the HOw to destroys angels ep, specially fur lined.

Thank u very mutch for the info Trent... If u want to see some of my videos. Go to Youtube, then chanels, and type in warrier91... Please Comment!.. and help spred the news..

Does anybody know anything/have experience with RED Distribution (apart from you, Trent, and I doubt you're going to reply to this)?

From the outset, they seem to purely fill the physical distribution roles of a label, without the interference that a traditional label relationship would bring. So more of a business partner than anything else.

My thought was that if one were to start their own label to put their music on (e.g. Null Corporation) they could simply partner with a distribution company...and all problems would be solved? (Apart from, you know, the marketing and everything else...)